Good morning! It’s National Tell A Joke Day. What am I gonna do about it? Same thing you do when you cross an elephant with a rhino…

Elephino!

(say it out loud if you didn’t get it)

Thanks for that one, Ted Lasso. Click Reply and hit me with your best knee slappers! 😆 

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How to be a PRO with Pro-Pro

Weird title, I know. But easy to remember! What’s pro-pro? Protein and produce.

If you can build every meal—or even 80-90% of meals—around those two things, you’ll be set up for major success in your health and fitness journey. Let’s dive into why each one is vital for every meal.

PROTEIN

We’ve talked quite a bit about the importance of protein in Move to Improve. It’s a foundational macronutrient that is necessary for us to build muscle (which everyone should want to do), along with myriad other bodily functions and processes necessary for life.

And why build muscle? Abundant, healthy muscle will keep us functional as we age, it acts as a “metabolic sink” for the carbs & sugars we consume, it keeps our metabolism running high, and it drastically decreases our risk of developing major chronic diseases and disabilities.

Protein also keeps us satiated. It’s easy to eat 1,000 Calories of junk food like chips, donuts, or cheesecake. It’s much, much harder to eat 1,000 Calories of lean chicken breast. You could eat the former after a full day of meals. But eating that much pure protein would keep you stuffed for hours. Consuming adequate protein at all meals, and especially in your first meal of the day, will keep you feeling satisfied all day and prevent later cravings.

A healthy daily intake of protein is at least 1.2g per kg of bodyweight (~0.55g per pound), but more ideal would be 1.6–1.8+g per kg (0.7 to 0.8+g per pound). That means at 2–4 meals today, you should aim to consume ~25–50g of protein.

Protein can be found in all animal products (meat, fish, dairy, eggs, etc.); in nuts, seeds, lentils, & legumes; and to a lesser extent in other grains, produce, etc.

PRODUCE

Why produce? (In part,) because of fiber. What even is fiber?

While fiber isn’t a macronutrient (like protein, carbohydrates, and fats), it is basically indigestible carbs, like plant cell walls, that are still very beneficial for us. It vastly helps with moving our digestion along, good fiber feeds our gut microbiome to keep it healthy, and fiber also expands in the presence of water and keeps us filling satiated (full), like protein does. Fiber has also been suggested to lower the risks of developing chronic diseases.

Suggested daily amounts vary, and individuals have different tolerances for fiber in their diet. If you’re not used to consuming much, increase your intake slowly and incrementally, not all at once. Many traditional suggestions recommend 20–30g over the course of a day. However, I’ve started seeing newer recommendations for 10–20g per 1,000 Calories consumed per day. So you can do that calculation for yourself and probably come up with a number anywhere from 20g to 60g+. This probably means aiming for 5–15g per meal, depending on your needs and tolerance.

Fiber can be found in most plant foods—thus the “produce” half of the pro-pro formula. It’s especially found in the peels, seeds, rines, etc. of foods. Almost all vegetables are decently high in fiber, along with many fruits, such as berries, apples, pears, oranges, and avocados. Oats, whole grains, lentils, nuts, and seeds are usually high in fiber as well.

How to be a PRO with the Pro-Pro method:

Build every meal by first picking a primary source of protein. Then pick a serving or two of produce to go along with it. Those two steps alone will keep you well-nourished and full after every meal. Fill in the rest of your meal with whatever, knowing that you’ve covered most of your macro- and micronutrient bases by prioritizing protein and produce at every meal.

It doesn’t have to be complicated either! You can pick 5 protein sources and 5–10 high-fiber produce items to keep in your regular meal rotation and live a very healthy life.

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Start every day with one high-protein food and one high-fiber fruit, vegetable, or grain.

Level 2: Consume at least 30g of protein and 5–10g of fiber at every meal of the day.

Level 3: Optimize your diet by calculating ideal protein (0.8–1.0g per pound) and fiber (15–20g per 1,000 Cal), and work to meet these goals at least 80% of days in a month.

This newsletter is brought to you by… me!

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Know someone else who might be? I’d love to get to know you and/or your business and see how we can partner together. Reply to this email!

✍️ Drew's Picks:

• Listen: “What We Got Wrong About Covid.” This Tuesday’s episode of my favorite podcast, Pantsuit Politics, was so good, I’m giving it a re-listen today. Grace and nuance, people. Grace and nuance.

• Read: “Pain in Training.” This is a great, pretty in-depth-but-comprehensible read for anyone who’s struggled with injury or pain during training or exercise.

Adios, mis amigos! Have a lovely week and stay safe out there. Don’t forget, if you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, click the button below to copy the link and share with a friend so our MTI community can continue to grow 🤗

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).